Bathtub supporting bracket



1366- 1933- c. J. ERICKSON ET AL BATHTUB SUPPORTING BRACKET Filed April21, 1952 g wives m aQ/zrfl f fag/W A TYS Patented Dec. 12, 1933 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE BATHTUB SUPPORTING BRACKET CarlJ. Erickson and CarlH. Johnson, Chicago, Ill.

Application April 21, 1932. Serial No. 606,560

11 Claims.

in a building beforethe plastering or cement and tile are applied to'the walls. The tubs are supported on the floor and secured in positionwith the upwardly extending flange adjacent the wall studding. Theunderside of the flange or rim at the back and at one or both ends ofthe tub are of rough unfinished iron and after the tub is installedsuitable plaster or tile finish is applied to the wall in a manner tomake a tight joint with the enameled surface of the bath tub rim.

If the finished Wallis to be of plaster or cement, the practice is tobutt the rim of the tub up against the studdingand then apply thefinish, and if the wall is of brick, the tub flange is butted againstthe so-called furring-strips which are substituted for the studding of aframe building. 7 8

When the finished wall is constructed of tile requiring a thickundercoat, the practice is to set the tub so that the unfinished rimedge is approximately seven-eighths'of an'inch away from the stud orfurring-strip.

The result of installing a tub supported entirely on the floor is thatas the floor joists and other timbers dry out and settle, the flange isdrawnaway from the wall finish and in nearly all cases a crack ofconsiderable size results between the tub and the plaster or tile.

In order to eliminate the possibility of this crack occurring, a woodentwo-by-four has been secured horizontally to the studs or furring-'strips to support the rim of the tub so that it would not settle'withthe fioor. This practice practically eliminates the crack in the jointbetween the tub and the wall. However, in M order to do this, it isnecessary to first set the tub in place, adjust it so that the front,back and ends are level, or, if the tub is warped, to set it so that itwill appear level and then mark the height at which the two-by-four isto a be secured to the studding. Then it is necessary to remove the tubor bring it "back away from the wall in order to have work room in whichto nail the two-by-four against the studs or furring-strips; then thetub is replaced with the rim on the two-by-four. If this is accurate--ly and carefully done the tub may be found to be approximately level.However, the under surface of the tub rim is rough and contains manyimperfections and it has usually been found necessary to repeat theabove process until by a cut-and-try method the two-by-four has beenfinally placed so that the tub would rest in the desired position. Evenwhen this has been accomplished, it is often found that the tub flangerests on the two-by-four only at some one or two points where it issupported by the imperfectionsof the rough flange surface and in timethese imperfections settle into the surface of the two-by-four and acrack occurs even when the tub has been otherwise well installed.

The above method is expensive and inconvenient as it is often necessaryto disconnect the plumbing and make several re-adjustments.

This invention overcomes the above and other difliculties and provides asuitable supporting means whereby the tub may be permanently installedand the supporting means applied and permanently secured, without lossof time or readjustment of tub or supports, and in a manner to preventany crack between the plaster and flange at any future time.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improvedbath tub support by which the tub may be accurately engaged at allpoints to which the support is applied and by which the tub will beretained in the original level position.

A further object is to provide a bath tub support in which alladjustment may be made easily and conveniently by means of the, supportsonly instead of adjusting and re-adjusting the tub as has formerly beenthe practice.

This invention also provides a convenient device which is small in sizeand whereby a large number may be packed in a small space and easilytransported to desired locations A further object is the provision of asuitable bath tub support which combines an accurate gauge for settingthe bath tub relative to the supporting studs or furring-strips wherebywall finishes of desired thickness may belater applied.

A novel feature of the invention is the provision of a one-piece supportwhich may be attached to the side of a stud and which is formable by theworkman for attachment to the front side of the studwhile retaining thesame supporting characteristics.

A further object is the provision of a onepiece sheet metal bracketwhich is cheap to manufacture, requires no assembly, and which is means.

convenient to install after the bath tub has been permanently installed.7

Various other objects and advantages will be apparent from thespecification and the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of one embodiment of my invention appliedto a wall stud, the cement and the tile wall finish and the tub rimbeing shown in section; V

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one of the tub supporting bracketsapplied to a wall stud;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of an installed bath tub, the adjacentstudding being shown in section with the supporting brackets appliedthereto and illustrates the method of inserting the brackets frombetween the studding and moving them into supporting relation afterthetub. has

side of a studding instead of to the front but which may be formed bythe user for attachment to the front if desired; and

Fig. 6 illustrates a method of using the bracket as a gauge forpermanent installation of the tub at a desired distance from the wall asrequired for a particular type of wall finish.

Referring to the drawing in detail, the embodiment illustrated ispreferably made of sheet metal formed to provide suitable rim-engagingHowever, the device may be made of other material if desired andcomprises a comparatively narrow elongated plate 1' having outwardlyextending tub engaging ears or flanges 2 formed thereon.

The elongated plate 1 is upwardly extending from the flanges 2 and isprovided with a series of holes 3 whereby the device may be secured tostudding 4 or furring strips as illustrated. Any suitable fasteningmeans such as nails 5 can .be used.

The base plate 1 is also provided with a series of holes 6 through whicha suitable metal lath or other plaster support '7 may be secured bynails or other suitable securing means.

The outwardly extending flanges 2 are provided with inclined steps 8 and9 which, in the present instance, are formed to accommodate a standardtype of bath tub rim when engaged therewith as illustrated in Fig. 1. Itshould be understood that these steps may be of any desired contour toconform to. the contour of the tubs used therewith. However, theinclined steps illustrated in the present embodiment may be successfullyused with most of the tubs in common use.

As previously stated, the tubs are commonly permanently installedadjacent the side and end wall studdings or furring-strips asillustrated in Fig. 3.

In installing the tub, the supporting bracket may be usedas a gauge asillustrated in Fig. 6. When used in this connection, the brackets areinverted as shown and when it is desired to space the tub for tilefinishes, such as shown in Fig. 1, the flange 11 of the tub is placedagainst the vertical riser 9a of the step 9 as illustrated, and the tubis then permanently fastened in place and the plumbing may be installed.The bracket may then be removed and inserted between thelstudding asshown in Fig.

3 and moved laterally between the studding and the tub and then raiseduntil the steps 9 are snugly in contact with the lower surface of thetub rim; the bracket may then be firmly secured in place by the nails 5as illustrated in Fig. 1.

It will be obvious that all of the supporting brackets may be firmlysecured in place to support the tub adjacent each wall stud orfurring-strip, and may be secured without disturbing the alignment ofthe tub and thereafter the tub rim will be supported in alignment withthe brackets regardless of any settling of the floor. After the bracketshave all been installed, the metal lath 7 may be applied and fastenedthrough the series of openings 6 in the brackets and the cement coating12 and tile 13 may then be applied thereto.

.If a plaster coating alone is to be applied to the wall, the tub flangemay be spaced from the studs or furring-strips by only substantially thethickness of the plate 1.

Thebrackets are then inserted in the supporting position as previouslydescribed but with the flange 11 resting on the step 8.

It should be noted that a considerable number of minor imperfectionsusually exist on the underside of'the rim 11 and steps 8 and 9 presentsharp, clear-cut edges which may be moved back and forth to scrape offthese minor imperfections and thereby accurately seat the particularstep used snugly against the under surface of the rim before the bracketis secured in place by the nails 5.

Theuse of this invention for supporting the tub provides a permanentsupport at all points of engagement with the tub rim regardless ofvariations in the alignment of the rim. This is of considerableimportance when it is remembered that many of these rims are warped aswell as having the above mentioned imperfections. n

The embodiment illustrated in Fig. 4 is similar to that just describedexcept that it is somewhat cheaper in construction and requires lessmetal, as one of the flanges 2 is eliminated. Otherwise, thestru'ctureis the same as the embodiment illustrated in Fig.1.

Fig. 5 illustrates an embodiment wherein the bracket is a. singlefiatsheet metal plate and is adapted for conditions where it is desirable tosecure the device to the side of the studding instead of to the front.In this form the supporting portion may be bent by the user to theangular relation shown in Fig. 4, whereby the bracket may be attached tothe face of the wall stud.

It is obvious that large numbers of these devices may be packed in avery small space and be easily transported and conveniently andefficiently used for the purpose described.

The deviceis adaptable for use with any ordinary. type of buildingconstruction and whereever studs or studding are referred to in theclaims it is intended to cover either metal or wood studding orfurring-strips or analogous structure. i

Various modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art andwe desire, therefore, to be limited only by the prior art and scope ofthe appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire to secureby Letters Patent is:

1. .A bath tub emergency support of the character described comprising anarrow elongated plate having openings therein for attachment 150 to awall stud after the tub is in place, and an outwardly extending integralflange adjacent its lower end and arranged to engage the under surfaceof the rim of a permanently installed floor supported bath tub.

2. A bath tub support of the character described comprising an elongatedstrip for attachment to a wall stud, a thin outwardly extending tub rimengaging portion integral therewith, and a plurality of tub engagingsurfaces on said supporting portion whereby to engage the rim inemergency supporting relation in any one of a plurality of permanentlyinstalled horizontally spaced positions relative to said studding.

3. A bath tub support of the character described comprising a sheetmetal bracket for attachment to a wall stud after a tub has beenpermanently installed and supported adjacent thereto and arranged to besecured to said studding in aligmnent with the front surface thereof,and an outwardly extending integral portion on said bracket and having aplurality of vertically spaced rim engaging edge surfaces for engagingwith and forming an emergency support for the rim of said tub in aplurality of horizontally spaced positions relative to said studding.

4. A supporting device of the character described for bath tubspermanently installed adjacent wall studding, comprising a comparativelythin member for attachment to individual studding and having a portionextending under the rim of said bath tub to prevent the tub settlingrelative to said studding, said engagement being substantially thethickness of said member, said member being arranged to be insertedbetween the studding and moved laterally into engagement therewith andhaving a part forming a gauge for laterally positioning said tub.

5. A bath tub bracket of the character described comprising a thin sheetmetal base having oppositely disposed out-turned flanges adjacent oneend, the contour of said flanges forming a plurality of edge surfacesconforming substantially to the contour of the under surface of a bathtub rim, and a vertical edge surface for spacing a tub from a stud, andan extension on said base above said flanges and provided with openingswhereby the bracket may be secured to a studding.

6. A flat sheet metal tub supporting bracket of the character describedhaving a stud engag ing portion with-nail openings therein for securingto the side of a wall stud, and an outwardly extending tub rim engagingportionhaving a plurality of steps thereon for variously engaging therims of permanently installed and variously positioned tubs and avertical edge surface for spacing a tub from a stud, said supportingportion being arranged to be bent to substantially ninety degrees withthe stud engaging portion when desired whereby the bracket may beattached to the front of a stud instead of the side.

7. A bath tub support bracket of the character described comprising acomparatively narrow U-shaped sheet metal member having an upwardlyextending portion adapted to be secured to the face of a wall stud, thearms of the U-shaped member being provided with steps arranged toalternatively engage and support the flange of a permanently installedbath tub and a vertical edge surface for spacing a tub from a stud.

8. A U-shaped bath tub bracket support of the character described, thearms of said U-shaped member being adapted in one position of saidbracket to provide a gauge for the installation of a bath tub toposition the tub laterally from a stud and in another position of saidbracket to provide an emergencysupport therefor.

9. A bath tub bracket of the character described comprising a U-shapedmember arranged to be secured to the face of a studding, the arms ofsaid U-shaped member being arranged to engage and form an emergency sup,port for a permanently installed bath tub by engagement with the rimthereon, said bracket having a vertical gauge surface and beingadaptable when inverted to provide a gauge for the permanent alignmentof said tub. 10. A bath tub bracket of the character describedcomprising a U-shaped member arranged to besecured to the face of a wallstud,- the outwardly extending arms of said U-shaped member havingstepped surfaces thereon arranged to engage and provide an emergencysupport for a permanently installed bath tub by engagement with the rimthereof, said bracket having a vertical edge gauge surface and beingadaptable in one position to provide a gauge for the adjustment andpermanent alignment of said tub relative to wall studding and in anotherposition to support said tub when secured to said studding and theoriginal support is lowered.

11. A bath tub support of the character described comprising a flatsheet metal plate having an elongated attaching portion for alignmentwith the edge of a stud and attachment to the side thereof, and anoutwardly extending stepped portion for engagement with the rim of atub, said plate being formable for attachment to the front of the studinstead of the side while retaining the same tub supportingcharacteristics.

CARL J. ERICKSON.

CARL H. JOHNSON.

